Linda Cohn, who has anchored more “SportsCenter” episodes than anyone in ESPN’s history and been a trailblazing presence for women in sports media, will retire at the end of June. She will make her final appearances on SportsCenter on Friday.Cohn hosted her first SportsCenter on July 11, 1992, the 2 a.m. ET edition. Her 5,000th appearance came in 2016, and she was inducted into the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame in 2017. She relocated from Connecticut to Los Angeles in 2018, where she anchored late-night SportsCenter editions from L.A. until last year, when ESPN stopped producing the show in L.A.“What I’m most proud of is that my career lasted long enough for me to see little girls grow up watching SportsCenter, enter this business, and succeed in it,” Cohn said in a release from ESPN. “If my journey helped make that path a little easier for them, then that’s the achievement I’ll cherish most.”
Cohn was a frequent contributor to ESPN’s hockey coverage. In college, she was a goalie for Oswego State University in New York. Cohn recalled one of her favorite moments at ESPN was participating in an open tryout to be the Florida Panthers’ emergency backup goalie in 2015.ESPN announced plans for her to appear in-studio multiple times on Friday, including the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. SportsCenters, and she will appear with longtime co-host John Buccigross during coverage of the NHL Draft. Her final appearance will be during the 11 p.m. edition.“Linda Cohn is a legend and a major part of the history of ESPN,” ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus said in a network statement. “She has brought enthusiasm, personality and her love of sports to our audience for more than 30 years and her contributions to ESPN both in front of and behind the camera would make a very long list.”AnalysisLinda Cohn never got her own “SportsCenter,” never got to be paired in a star tandem like Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann and never had the legendary catchphrases like Stuart Scott. But if you wanted the best face on ESPN’s most famous promotion for the program, “This is SportsCenter,” it very well should be Cohn’s. She was SportsCenter, just that reliable presence with the facts, some light quips and the highlights. You knew you were going to get a great show.At ESPN internally, the executives in charge have often preached about putting the show before the individual, while rewarding the people who do the opposite the most handsomely. Cohn did very well in her career, but never had the full marquee. But she was as good as anyone, putting the games and news she was narrating first. She really was everything the network should be. — Andrew MarchandJun 22, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms
